PCs Support Legislation to Prevent SLAPP Lawsuits
WINNIPEG — Manitoba PCs are supporting Bill 23, The Public Interest Expression Defence Act, Brandon West MLA Wayne Balcaen, PC Critic for Justice, announced today.
The legislation does little to change the current legal landscape and legal defenses against defamation lawsuits. After consultation with in-house and external legal counsel and experts, PCs have decided to support this legislation.
SLAPPs—or, “strategic lawsuits against public participation”—are baseless or meritless lawsuits intended to intimidate, silence, and harass groups or individuals. Instead of winning the case, the person filing the SLAPP hopes to burden the defendant with the high costs and stress of filing a legal defense, hoping that they will abandon their criticism or claim.
“When dealing with legal matters, it takes time to gather the necessary expertise, precedence, and legal interpretations,” said Balcaen. “We’re happy to take the necessary time to gather thoughtful insight and analysis which led to our support of this legislation.”
“After completing that review, we determined that supporting the legislation is the right step forward—protecting free expression while ensuring legitimate legal claims can still be heard.”
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For media inquiries, please contact PCCaucus_Media@leg.gov.mb.ca